Editing Big Fish (section)

=== Development ===
About six months before it was published, the screenwriter [[John August]] read a manuscript of the 1998 novel ''[[Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions]]'' by [[Daniel Wallace (author)|Daniel Wallace]].<ref>August, John (2004). ''The Author's Journey'' commentary track on ''Big Fish'' (DVD). Columbia Pictures. Event occurs at 1:23.</ref> In September 1998, August convinced [[Columbia Pictures]] to acquire the [[film rights]] on his behalf.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fleming |first=Michael |date=1998-09-21 |title=Col reels in Wallace's 'Big Fish' |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/col-reels-in-wallace-s-big-fish-1117480600/ |access-date=2009-06-20 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref><ref name="Empire">{{cite news|last=Salisbury|first=Mark|title=Of Myth & Men|work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]|date=February 2004}}</ref> He worked hard to turn the episodic book into a cohesive screenplay, which he decided needed multiple narrators.<ref name="Faber">Cohen, Bruce; Burton, Tim (2004). ''A Fairytale World'' commentary track on ''Big Fish'' (DVD). Columbia Pictures.</ref> In August 2000, the producers [[Bruce Cohen]] and [[Dan Jinks]] began discussions for [[Steven Spielberg]] to direct the film. Spielberg planned to have [[DreamWorks Pictures|DreamWorks]] co-finance and distribute ''Big Fish'' with Columbia, and intended to start filming in late 2001, after completing ''[[Minority Report (film)|Minority Report]]'' (2002).<ref name="Yahoo!">{{cite news |author=Schmitz |first=Greg Dean |author-link=Greg Dean Schmitz |title=Big Fish: Greg's Preview |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/preview/1808403164 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060527022419/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/preview/1808403164 |archive-date=2006-05-27 |access-date=2009-07-12 |work=[[Yahoo! Movies]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Fleming|first=Michael|author2=Claude Brodesser|url=https://variety.com/2000/film/news/col-fish-may-hook-spielberg-1117784868/|title=Col 'Fish' may hook Spielberg|work=Variety|date=2000-08-10|access-date=2009-06-20}}</ref>

Spielberg courted [[Jack Nicholson]] for the role of the older Edward Bloom. He felt that the script did not give Nicholson enough to do, so he asked August to write new sequences.<ref name="Empire"/> Spielberg eventually left ''Big Fish'' when he became involved with ''[[Catch Me If You Can]]'' (2002), and DreamWorks also backed out of the project.<ref name="Yahoo!"/><ref name="Catch">{{cite news|last=Harmon|first=Rick|title=Movie's director spotted|work=[[Montgomery Advertiser]]|date=2002-09-14}}</ref> With Spielberg no longer involved, August and the producers restored the script to its previous version. Spielberg later admitted that he made a mistake by asking August to alter the screenplay. August took his favorite elements from the previous drafts and came up with what he called "a best-of ''Big Fish'' script". August, Jinks and Cohen considered [[Stephen Daldry]] as a potential director before deciding to approach [[Tim Burton]].<ref name="Empire" /><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Tyrangiel|first=Josh|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1006335,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825104430/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1006335,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 25, 2009|title=Big Fish In His Own Pond|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=2003-12-01|access-date=2009-06-21}}</ref> At this point, August felt the script was the best it had ever been.<ref name="Empire" />

Burton had just finished directing the big-budget film ''[[Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'' (2001), and was ready for a smaller-scale project. He liked the ''Big Fish'' screenplay, feeling that it was the first unique story he had been offered since ''[[Beetlejuice]]'' (1988). The script's combination of an emotional drama with exaggerated tall tales allowed him to tell multiple stories of different genres, which he enjoyed.<ref name="Faber"/> Burton's father had died recently, and he found that he could process emotions related to his father's death by making the film. He signed on to direct in April 2002, which prompted [[Richard D. Zanuck]], who worked with Burton on ''Planet of the Apes'', to join ''Big Fish'' as a producer.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dunkley |first=Cathy |date=2002-04-29 |title=Helmer reels in 'Big Fish' for Columbia |url=https://variety.com/2002/film/markets-festivals/helmer-reels-in-big-fish-for-columbia-1117866199/ |access-date=2009-06-20 |work=Variety}}</ref><ref name="Empire" />